The White Sox basestealing has been shut down, and not just by the opposing catchers. With his team just 30-for-59 in stolen-base attempts this season, manager Ozzie Guillen made a decision to slow down his baserunners.”

I shut it down a little bit more, because we were giving away outs with no reason,” Guillen said. “I want to see how the team functions without the running game. The running game wasn’t working. It was killing us.”

“we were giving away outs with no reason”. Yes! That’s what I’ve been saying all year. Make that all decade. Let’s hope now that Ozzie sticks by it.

After breezing through six scoreless innings of a rehab start for Class AAA Charlotte on Thursday night, Jake Peavy appears ready to face the Cubs on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, pitching coach Don Cooper said Friday.Manager Ozzie Guillen said the six-man starting rotation also appears to be back, probably through the All-Star break.“Without discussing it with Ozzie and [GM] Kenny [ Williams], it looks like he’s lined up for the last game against the Cubs,’’ Cooper said. “That’s unofficial, as well as the six-man rotation. But all of that is going to be discussed and probably shook out after the game today or tomorrow. We’ll talk more about it.”

Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.

Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.

Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

June 4, 2011

So how did this happen? How did Lillibridge turn into the Lilli-Hammer or the Lilli-Hurt? Let’s start with his hitting, and the coach who he credits for helping turn his career around: Greg Walker.“If it wasn’t for Walk, I don’t think I’d be where I’m at,” Lillibridge explains. “Two years ago, after my first year when I was hitting .158, and I was just lost, mechanically more than anything, he said, ‘Let’s work on things in the off-season,’ and we totally redid my swing to get a feel for what was right. Now it’s been a 2-3 year process and it’s come to fruition.”
…
Remember the Lillibridge of old, who used to stand in the box looking like he was playing wiffleball, swinging (and often missing) for the fences?

“I’ve always been told that since I was in college.”

He’s not missing so much anymore. But is there some truth to it?

“It’s just my mentality. I want to hit the ball hard,” Lillibridge said. “I’m not trying to hit the ball over the fence, I just don’t want to cheat myself. When my swing is right, I can swing hard and still be under control, hitting to right field, center field. But when things are off, and you’re swinging at the ball hard, you’re not going to be able to do anything with it.”

Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

Mark Buerhle: I just get the sign from the catcher and try to make the best pitch I can, to the best location. I’ve never been a guy who studies film or goes over scouting reports. I go with my catcher, and Coop [pitching coach Don Cooper] usually sits down with us and goes over the game plan beforehand. For the most part, I figure that the less that’s on my mind when I’m out there — if I’m not thinking about, and worrying about, what to throw to guys — the better off I’m going to be.

I have four pitches that I have confidence in, and I’ll throw almost all of them in any count, in any situation. I feel that if I make a quality pitch, sometimes it’s going to be a hit, but a lot of times I’m going to get an out. Who’s to say…if I’m thinking of throwing a fastball to a certain guy, and A.J. [Pierzynski] calls for a changeup, why am I right over him? I just take it as, “Hey, whichever pitch you throw down, I’ll try to throw it to the best location, the best spot, and see what happens.”

June 2, 2011

It’d be way too easy to scream “SMALL SAMPLE SIZE” at Brent Lillibridge’s statistics this season and dismiss them as a fluke. Yes, a .662 slugging percentage probably isn’t sustainable given Lillibridge isn’t Jose Bautista or Matt Joyce. But there’s one stat that can be considered reliable with Lillibridge’s sample size, and that’s swing percentage. …

‘‘Mechanics are big part of it, and the work with [hitting coaches Greg Walker and Mike Gellinger], but for the most part it’s the mental side of it,’’ said Lillibridge, who’s batting .308 after hitting .224 last season. ‘‘It’s helped me not miss pitches and have some success these first two months. I’m really happy with where I’m at.’’

The White Sox announced their starting pitchers for the upcoming home series against the Tigers and Mariners, and the alignment shows their six-man rotation lives on.

Mark Buehrle opens the three-game weekend set at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday against the Tigers, followed by Edwin Jackson and Jake Peavy. John Danks gets the call Monday against the Mariners, with manager Ozzie Guillen simply wanting to give a healthy Danks the extra day of rest behind Peavy, followed by Philip Humber and Gavin Floyd.Humber has made the White Sox decision to move away from the six-man a difficult one. The right-hander has more recent relief experience, but he also has been the team’s most consistent starter.

Guillen indicated during Wednesday’s pregame interview session at Fenway Park how the six-man rotation would stick at least one more turn. But in that same talk with reporters, Guillen mentioned how the six-man rotation could last through the All-Star break.

“Well, it’s kind of funny, after the All-Star break, we have a lot of days — maybe 12 days with guys without pitching. Then it changes a little bit,” Guillen said. “Before the All-Star break, I want those guys to catch up and breathe for the long stretch.

“Now we have that six-man [rotation], then boom, we go into the All-Star break and we have to figure out to go five or six. In the beginning, we should go with five, because some guys will be spending 10 days without pitching. Obviously they’ll be in the bullpen and throwing on the side and stuff, but it’s not the same.”

“I’m expanding my zone early in the count and that’s getting me in trouble,” he said. “I’m going to fix it. It’s just a matter of how or when. It’s one of those things sitting around pouting about it, moping around about it isn’t going to change anything.

“I don’t want the guy sitting on the hill throwing me pitches to realize it. I want him to look at me and go, ‘Man, this is still a dangerous guy, I don’t care what he’s hitting.’ And if you’ve got that bad body language like you’re pouting or something, what’s that going to solve?”

May 1, 2011

Brent Lillibridge’s home run in the fifth inning Sunday meant the utility player now has three on the season.More surprising, his third home run, in his 27th at-bat, is one more long ball than slugger Adam Dunn has in 75 at-bats. Lillibridge was essentially replacing Dunn in the lineup Sunday since Carlos Quentin moved to the designated hitter spot while Lillibridge took over for Quentin in right field.

Pointed out by @RizzoRJ77, Brent Lillibridge has more home runs than Adam Dunn.

April 7, 2011

[Brent] Lillibridge has proven to be most adept at handling the outfield challenge, although he admitted playing left field or right field has a different feel than being in center.

“Corners are tougher. The balls aren’t going straight at you. They hook or fade,” Lillibridge said. “I’m just looking forward to doing my job. Run some bases, chase the balls down in the outfield like a dog and go from there.”